Results from the March 23rd
Town Council Meeting

At their meeting on this past Tuesday, the Town Council took the following actions:

• Adopted a resolution recognizing March 31st annually as Transgender Day of Visibility
• Received annual report on the status of the Town General Plan, pursuant to Government Code Section 65400, including progress in its implementation, and direct staff to submit the report to the State Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and State Housing and Community Development Department.
• Appointed seven members to the Racial Equity Ad Hoc Committee.
• Received report on the 2021-22 Work Plan and provided direction to staff.
• Approved Memorial Park Skate Park renovation project and allocated up to $5,000 for a contingency budget.
• Received report on the Millennium Playground Restoration Project and approved funding for assessment, planning, coordination, materials, and outside services not to exceed $40,000.
• Authorized the Town Manager to sign an agreement with RHAA Landscape, Architecture and Planning (RHAA) for the Reimagine Creek Park Project.

Marin Progresses from Red Tier to Orange

The State of California has announced that Marin County will be moving from “red” to “orange” status in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, effective Wednesday, March 24.
The move from tier 2 or “substantial risk” status to the less restrictive tier 3 or “moderate risk” level is based on consecutive weeks of progress in Marin’s coronavirus case statistics. Marin joins Santa Clara and San Francisco as Bay Area counties moving to tier 3 this week. San Mateo County achieved orange status on March 17.
The primary changes allowed under the state order as Marin moves into tier 3:

• Retail & grocery stores: can expand indoor capacity to 100%.
• Restaurants – indoor dining: can expand indoor capacity to 50% or 200 people (whichever is fewer).
• Museums & movie theaters: can expand indoor capacity to 50% or 200 people (whichever is fewer).
• Houses of worship: can expand indoor capacity to 50% or 200 people (whichever is fewer).
• Weddings/funerals: can expand indoor capacity to 50% or 200 people (whichever is fewer).
• Family recreation / entertainment facilities: can expand indoor capacity to 25%.
• Gyms & fitness studios: can expand indoor capacity to 25% and reopen indoor pools.
• Breweries/wineries that do not serve food: can expand indoor capacity to 25% or 100 people (whichever is fewer).
• Bars that do not serve food: can operate outdoors only.
• Non-essential offices may reopen (but working remotely is still encouraged).
• Higher education: can expand indoor capacity to 50% for indoor lectures.

Changes to business sector guidelines are available on the Marin Recovers website or the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy website.
In August 2020, the state introduced its Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a four-tier framework by which counties are measured for loosening and tightening restrictions on social activities and business operations. Sectors of business can progressively open more operations with moves up the list toward the final stage, yellow tier 4. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) assigns each county to a tier on a weekly basis based on two county-level factors: the total number of new cases, and the percent of new cases among those tested. A county must spend at least 21 days in any tier before advancing to a less restrictive one. As Marin experienced last year, counties have to tighten back up if conditions worsen.

While case rates have continued to improve over the past month, public health officials caution residents that more work is needed to achieve the next milestone.
“The next four weeks are pivotal for us,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s Public Health Officer. “We saw an uptick in cases last week and with variant cases increasing, we don’t want to drop the ball before we reach the goal line. Letting your guard down puts us at risk of slipping backward. While pandemic fatigue is real, we must stay the course to help Marin reach tier 4.”

Public Health recommends mask wearing, physical distancing, and frequent hand washing when in public, and to considering testing prior to, and quarantining after, travel outside of the Bay Area. Free, same-day COVID-19 testing is available across the county, and anyone who comes into frequent contact with members of the public should consider getting tested at least once a month. See Public Health’s testing webpage for a list of locations.

Meanwhile, vaccinations continue throughout the county. Nearly 48% of Marin residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. See Public Health’s vaccination webpage for the latest information.

Digital Marin seeks feedback from the community about internet access

Digital Marin is a cross-sector collaboration between residents and government, education, nonprofit, business, and other sectors to develop a countywide roadmap for achieving these goals:

• Everyone in Marin has access to high quality, affordable internet and knows how to use it.
• Our networks and connections can survive a disaster.
• Communities are better served through data sharing and collaborative services.
• Online services are easy to use and work for people.

As part of a robust community outreach and data collection effort, the Digital Marin project is seeking feedback from residents via an online survey that asks questions about access, quality, affordability, and use of the internet. Responses will help identify potential projects and priorities for the roadmap.

Please take the survey and also share it widely with your friends, family, and coworkers here in Marin. The survey takes 10 minutes to complete and responses are anonymous. The survey can be taken in English or Spanish. In addition to this survey, the Digital Marin project is also conducting a series of focus groups, interviews, and sector-specific surveys with various stakeholder groups in the Marin.

Phone Line to Aid with Vaccination Appointments

Marin County residents who have been unable to make their own COVID-19 vaccination appointments via the internet can call a new Access Service Center at 833-641-1988 to get assistance from a real live human being.
The Marin Access Service Call-Center is intended for local residents without internet service who need assistance with registration, transportation, and communication related to the vaccination process.  Those eligible to receive call center assistance are:

• age 65 or older
• living with disabilities (all ages)
• in need of home care or personal assistance
• need language interpretation (including ASL)
• have limited or no internet access
• need help arranging transportation to and from an appointment

The Access Service Call Center is a collaboration between the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Vivalon, the San Rafael-based nonprofit, formerly known as Whistlestop. Staff members from County HHS, Vivalon, the all-volunteer Marin Medical Reserve Corps and disaster service workers (DSW) from the both the State and County of Marin employee ranks will assist callers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday until the pandemic subsides.

A second appointment hotline for eligible vaccine residents of all ages is offered through the State of California at (833) 422-4255.

Help San Anselmo win our competition with Fairfax to get the most sign ups for  MCE’s Deep Green 100% renewable energy service! It is a simple way to invest in a clean energy future. By opting–up to Deep Green, customers choose California wind and solar energy and eliminate their electricity–related carbon footprint in a simple and low–cost way. Deep Green customers pay only $0.01/kilowatt–hour more in comparison to MCE’s Light Green service, $5 more a month for the average residential customer. Half of the Deep Green premium is invested in MCE’s Local Renewable Energy & Program Development Fund, helping to support the funding and installation of electric vehicle charging ports and building of renewable projects across our service area. To opt–up simply visit mceoptup.org and join the renewable energy movement!

Think Lean, Clean, and Green  

   
Here’s a fire-smart landscaping tip from UC Marin Master Gardeners.  Spring is the time to make your garden lean, clean, and green, and create a well maintained and defensible space around your property.  

• Lean: Keep plants thinned, pruned, and low growing. Have space between individual plants, or plant in small, irregular clusters or islands. Space trees so that at maturity the crowns are 10 feet apart or more.
• Clean: Remove fallen leaves and needles, dried grass, weeds, dead branches, and other dead vegetation. Check gutters, roof, eaves, vents and chimney for leaf and needle litter.  Rake fallen leaves, then compost or remove.  
• Green:  Properly irrigated plants remain healthy and green summer through fall.  Check your irrigation system regularly for leaks or malfunctions.

Before each fire season, re-evaluate your lean, clean and green landscape. For more information on fire-smart landscaping see:  http://marinmg.ucanr.edu/Fire-smart_Landscaping/

ART ON THE AVENUE

The San Anselmo Arts Commission is proud to be sponsoring this art exhibit at 538 San Anselmo Avenue. This month features four students from Michael Feldman Art Gallery will be featured. 

This exhibit will run through the month of March. For more information about the Arts Commission please visit. http://sananselmoarts.org/  

Night of the Poets

Wednesday, April 28
7pm on Zoom

Summoning word wizards and masters of meter! All ages are welcome to participate and attend the San Anselmo Library’s first (and maybe only) virtual Night of the Poets. Come one come all to read or listen.  Celebrate poetry during a pandemic with your library and community.

Contact sleyland@townofsananselmo.org to read an original or favorite poem or to attend the event. 

Historical Museum

The San Anselmo Historical Museum has REOPENED! It is now open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. with safety measures in place that include mandatory face coverings, hand sanitizing, special cleaning procedures and social distancing protocols. Docents are excited to welcome visitors again and show the enhancements to the diorama of downtown San Anselmo that were made during the yearlong closure.

OPEN THREE DAYS A WEEK

HOURS: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 10 – 4
DONATIONS: Mondays 1 - 3 and Fridays 11 - 1

Our dedicated volunteers continue to keep the store open
three days a week and follow COVID guidelines to ensure you have a safe shopping experience. We are also getting so many wonderful donations - find something different every time you visit. Be sure to check out our cool new masks with the TOWN BOOKS logo, now on sale.

DONATIONS are being accepted. Please bring donations only on the days and
hours above. Please note the corrected donation hours. Because of health
guidelines for quarantining books and our limited space, we can only accept
individual donations up to 3 boxes/bags per household.

For more information, call 415-526-3791 or go to townbooks.org. Proceeds go
to the San Anselmo Public Library.

With Marin moving to the orange tier San Anselmo Recreation’s Adult and Senior classes should be moving back in person within the next few months. We are currently recruiting community members to lead all sorts of classes! Do you have a skill or talent that you can share and teach? E-mail a class proposal to Kevin MacLeod at kmacleod@townofsananselmo.org to share your idea! Volunteers and fee class ideas are welcome!

Summer is Almost Here!!!

Spaces are filling fast!! Don’t miss your chance to register for San Anselmo Recreation’s upcoming summer camps! Check out our all-new virtual guide for 2021, complete with hyperlinked titles for each class, a nifty table of contents with links to the correct pages, and a simplified camp snapshot! Click the link below to check out the guide!

CLICK HERE to view the all-new summer activity guide!!

MCE is Looking to Celebrate Youth Leaders

MCE (@mceCleanEnergy) is looking to celebrate the stories of young environmental leaders! If you are between the ages of 15-24 or know a young environmental leader, check out MCE’s #BecauseOfYouth campaign. Participation is easy and can help get the word out about an environmental cause in your community! For more information visit: www.mceCleanEnergy.org/Because-Of-Youth

Applications Sought for Economic Development Committee

The Committee’s charge is to work with local businesses and the community at large toward a vibrant and successful local economy that meets the needs of the residents and visitors of San Anselmo.  The Committee has seven members and meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 8:45 a.m. in the Town Council Chambers.  There are three seats available. Apply here: 

Help Keep the Flower Baskets In Downtown San Anselmo

Donations are being accepted to help fund this annual community effort

The San Anselmo Beautification Committee has launched its 2021 fundraising campaign to raise funds for the annual hanging flower basket program in the downtown.

There are two ways you can contribute:

1. Donate by visiting the program's GO FUND ME PAGE, or

2.  Mail a check to:

San Anselmo Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 2844, San Anselmo, CA 94979
(please mark check for “baskets”)

For more information about the project, contact Nancy Altman at nnaltman@me.com